Sidetracked
by autumnsbliss
Summary: [Rollins x Carisi] "I'm pretty sure when Liv asks what I've been doing to get ready for the sergeant's exam, 'Carisi' isn't gonna be the answer she's looking for." *(Established Relationship)*


Rollins could feel herself losing focus on the task at hand as the words on her laptop screen began to blur in front of her. Those words that had been practically singed into every aspect of her memory over the past three weeks, but that she still felt the need to read over again until they no longer made sense. Every step of crime scene protocol...every previously meaningless acronym...they had become so familiar she was sure she could recite them in her sleep.

And yet she forced herself to keep going over them in a silent mantra. Just in case.

Carisi's voice, in that moment, was nothing more than soothing white noise, and she listened subconsciously to the muffled sound as he read Jesse to sleep. Without her noticing, the murmuring eventually stopped. Her only indication that her daughter had finally fallen asleep was the fact that she could hear a door close down the hall, and hear footsteps join her in her dimly lit bedroom.

"Thanks again for taking over bedtime duty tonight," she said without looking away from the glowing screen in front of her. "With my luck, tonight would have been a five story marathon."

She could hear a quiet 'click' as he unfastened his watch and set it aside on top of her dresser.

"Fell asleep after one and a half," he said with a tone of playful pride. "Billie though? Might not sleep through the night."

"The pediatrician said she still hasn't gotten over that cold. Which for me means not remembering the last time I got to sleep later than 4 A.M."

Carisi sat down on the bed next to her, and she smiled subconsciously when she could feel him press a kiss against her shoulder.

"The joys of parenthood," The words vibrated against her skin, and she stifled a giggle in response to the feeling.

Throughout the course of their relationship, she had been willing to let go of the vast majority of her inhibitions. She was not a giggler though. Nor could she ever see herself becoming one.

"Like you would have any idea," she teased in response. "You've got the option to leave during the witching hours."

"I'm still here though, aren't I?"

God, she loved him.

The fleeting thought came so naturally to her now after months...maybe even years...of pushing it aside for no other reason than a deep-rooted fear of the unknown. She couldn't love him. Not when they were coworkers. Not even when they'd first started "casually" dating.

Loving him meant being vulnerable. Opening herself up to the possibility of getting hurt in the long run. And at some point she'd realized that - with him - that was okay.

It took her a moment through being caught up in her own array of thoughts to notice her head subconsciously tilting into where he had moved his lips to trace feather light kisses against the side of her neck. The half-chuckle that slipped through her lips was soft and breathy, and she rolled her eyes playfully if only to herself.

"I wouldn't've asked you to come if I knew you were gonna be such a distraction," she said. "I'm pretty sure when Liv asks what I've been doing to get ready for the sergeant's exam, 'Carisi' isn't gonna be the answer she's looking for."

They shared a small laugh, and when she shied away from his touch after just another few seconds of allowing herself to get lost in the bliss of it, he looked at her thoughtfully.

"What are you so nervous about anyway? You're the best cop I know and you've been studying every night for weeks," he reminded her. "You're gonna do great."

It was such a typical Sonny Carisi pep talk - founded on nothing but his unconditional support and belief that she could handle anything life threw at her - and yet she couldn't help but allow it to make her smile. After giving it some thought, however, she finally shook her head.

"Fin's leaving some big shoes to fill...and I haven't exactly had a spotless track record since I've been in New York," she said. "I might not even be considered for this promotion at all. Especially if any of the higher ups find out we're together."

"No one has to know. Not at work, at least."

"You can't tell me you haven't noticed the way Liv's been watching us. She's startin' to get suspicious. We can't hide it forever, Sonny."

The magnitude of the word that had seemed so meaningless when she'd said it was only lost on her for a split second, and she could tell by the way he looked at her in response that it hadn't been lost on him either. Forever. Because ever since they had finally taken that risk on one another, she had a hard time imagining a long-term future without him in it.

"Forever, huh?" He asked, and despite the playful tone of his voice, she had a feeling that there was still a speck of sincerity behind the simple question.

Rollins thought about teasing him in response...maybe telling him not to start mentally planning the wedding just yet. But she didn't, and looked at him with a small, sincere smile instead.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "If you think you'd wanna stick around that long."

"Come on, Rollins," he chuckled. "You know I'll stick around as long as you want me to."

She cupped his face between her hands just briefly before sliding one hand around to the back of his neck to pull him closer.

"Let's start with tonight and take it from there."

Before he could say anything else, she leaned forward to press her lips against his, only getting lost in the intimacy of the moment for a short moment before he broke away just slightly to mumble against her lips.

"I thought you had to study?"

Her own lips turned up into a smile under his, and he pulled her closer to him...practically as close as she could get. With a suggestive tilt of her head, and a hand finding its way down to his torso, she had a feeling that her message was clear without her needing to voice it.

"Nothin' wrong with getting sidetracked for a little while."


End file.
